Finding Balance for the Holidays
- by Jessica Cleveland, MS, LPC-S, NCC
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in General
As a specialist in the treatment of anxiety disorders the past four years, I have seen a lot of anxious individuals.
Some more anxious than others, but almost all of them despite circumstances or clinical diagnoses, share an underlying feeling of overwhelm. This feeling of overwhelm can be even worse during the Holiday Season.
Our lives can be overwhelming. We’re constantly getting feedback from social media, text messages etc. and then there’s life to manage aside from that. Until recently, even I believed that a balanced life consisted of giving equal amounts of my time energy and effort to each of my priorities daily. I was wrong…in fact, living like this added stress and stretched me to a point where I had very little energy for anything or anyone in my life, and if you do this during the holiday season you might find that you can’t even enjoy them.
Different stages and time of our lives require us to give different amounts of our time, energy, and effort to each priority. So the first step to finding balance is to identify your priorities right now. Yours may be different, but most people have five common ones. They are God, family, work, friends, and self. For the Holiday season you may need to plan parties, gifts, decorations, family time, travel etc. Either way, ask yourself the following questions and answer honestly:
How much time, energy, and effort is each one getting? Or how much time do I really have for each one?
Is one of my priorities sabotaging the others? For example, am I giving work much more of my time than is necessary right now and hurting my marriage? If so, you may need to work late less often during this stage of life. Or, am I putting off a task, because it seems too big-and avoiding smaller task that could possibly help me take easier steps toward successfully completing a Holiday goal.
What stage of life am I in? For example, do I have small children that simply require more of me right now and more Holiday prep with parties/gifts etc.? If so, other areas may need to be given less energy, time, and effort…at least until you reach a new stage of life.
Notice that depending on your stage of life, you simply give less time, energy, and effort, so all your priorities are still being attended to, just in different amounts. This helps you set limits and realistic goals for your life, so you are not stretched too thin, thus reducing the overwhelming feeling experienced on a daily basis.
For the Holiday Season specifically:
- Set realistic/attainable goals
- Do not procrastinate
- Look for a positive in every Holiday task you attempt
May your Life be balanced and Joyful this Holiday Season. Let us know if we can help (256)-258-7777.
